


Let's Go Steal a Prince

by Vita_sine_fantasy_mors_est



Category: Kings (TV 2009), Leverage
Genre: Crossover, Fix-It, Jack Benjamin deserved better, Leverage to the rescue, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 00:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13306755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vita_sine_fantasy_mors_est/pseuds/Vita_sine_fantasy_mors_est
Summary: David Shepherd goes to Portland to get the Leverage team to help him rescue Jack Benjamin.





	Let's Go Steal a Prince

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gryzdolnik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryzdolnik/gifts).



> Hi Gryzdolnik, I hope you like this short piece! Sorry there isn't more Jack/David, but imagine it's there in the future of this fic.

Parker was the first one to notice the guy sitting at the “potential client” table, as they sometimes called it, and she popped into the kitchen where Eliot and Hardison were having another argument about beer.   
“There’s someone at the table,” she said before kissing both Hardison and Eliot on the cheek and swinging an arm around each of them and almost dragging them out of the kitchen.   
“Details woman, I need some details!” Hardison mock-complained.  
“He’s blond and tired and is almost as twitchy as Eliot, and his clothes are worn, and he’s not crying, and hasn’t been, but he’s worried, and he has a beard.”  
“Some kind of military vet maybe, I hope no one’s messing with homeless vets again,” said Eliot.

The three of them walked over to the table, and by the time they’d gotten there, Eliot was confident that their potential client was a vet, and potentially worried about being noticed. As they approached the man got up and held out his hand, which Hardison and Eliot shook, and Parker, as usual, declined, and the three introduced themselves.  
“Is there somewhere more private we could talk? I’m not really comfortable being out in the open. Actually, one question: do you do international jobs, or well, retrieving people instead of objects or reputations?”  
The three looked at each other, and Parker said, “We have a more private place, and we choose our jobs on a case by case basis. Come on.”  
The three of them led the guy through to the back room, and Eliot asked, “Need anything? A glass of water? Something to eat? A beer?”  
“A glass of water would be great, thanks.”   
The guy had a faint accent, but Eliot couldn’t place it, and it bothered him as he went to get the guy some water. He wanted to give the guy a bit of time to compose himself without Eliot being there and seeing more than the guy might want him to.

David Shepherd tried to ignore how Parker was staring at him and how furiously Hardison was typing on his phone, and tried to calm down so he could actually get out what he wanted to say. He wasn’t worried about choking up or anything, but not getting all the details in, or not getting through how important it was.   
Eliot finally came back with a glass of water, which he handed to David as he sat down.   
Parker said, “So, what’s up? Don’t leave out any details, that makes plans harder.”  
Then Hardison’s mouth dropped open and he pointed at David, “you, you, you’re, I know who you are-”  
“Hardison!” Eliot’s voice was sharp.  
Hardison took a deep breath and composed himself. “Sorry man,” and turning to their guest, “Do you want to introduce yourself, or should I do it?”  
David smiled a tiny bit, unexpectedly pleased with Hardison’s thoughtfulness, before taking a breath and jumping in, “I’m David Shepherd, and I’m asking your help to go rescue Jack Benjamin.”

Eliot, Parker, and Hardison all stared at him.   
“We’re not magic, you know.”  
“Who’s David Shepherd?”  
“Say that again, slowly”  
Hardison held up a hand to prevent David from saying anything, “Parker, remember almost a year ago when I was talking about the coup, well coups in Gilboa,--”  
“Oh, so you’re the one who saved the king’s son, got famous, was almost executed for treason, then helped the real king come back, then disappeared?”  
“Parker!!”  
“In a nutshell, yeah, but it’s more complicated than that. And to answer your other question, Jack Benjamin didn’t die in a fight, I saw him after that, but then he disappeared and I’m really worried. Silas wouldn’t kill his own son, but also Silas wanted to punish Jack, and death wouldn’t really be enough of a punishment, so he’s definitely still alive, but probably locked up somewhere in the palace where he can’t cause any trouble. I came to you because I’ve heard that you can do amazing things and I’m technically in hiding because Silas would kill me or have me killed if I revealed myself, but that part’s a long story, but there isn’t any other place I could go, even if I could get an audience with the Premier of Gath, this is too uncertain for him to agree on just to spite Silas.”

David gulped down some water and looked at Leverage worriedly.  
Eliot coughed and David looked at him, “I’m going to disregard the holes in your story for right now. You obviously have resources, since you managed to get to Portland without anyone noticing you, and you knew about us, so why didn’t you go find some people who hate King Silas, or Gilboa, and work with them, why did you come to somewhere that helps people without resources who’ve been screwed over by forces much larger than themselves?”  
“Why would imprisonment be more of a punishment for the prince at this point than death, and he’s a prince, why did he have to become king in a coup?”  
David glanced at Parker and then stared down at his glass, trying to figure out a way to phrase this that wouldn’t be too uncomfortable.   
“Well, I think he wanted more power than he had, he’s ambitious and good at politics, and in Gilboa, the monarchy isn’t hereditary, the king is chosen by God, and he didn’t think he would ever be king, there was a lot going on there that I don’t know any details of, just impressions I picked up, and a couple clues. All he wanted to do was be king and make Silas proud of him and by the time I left, both of those hopes had been destroyed, and I think he was a bit humiliated, and Silas knew that and I think would have tried to severely punish Jack in a way that would really hurt, that way was not to kill Jack.”  
“So you think he imprisoned and tortured his son?” Parker didn’t look too skeptical or surprised about that thought.  
“Yes”   
“Captain Shepherd-”   
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m not a captain anymore, that was always an honorary rank more than anything. I’m also not in the army anymore, so just David is fine.”  
“One quick question and I’ll let Eliot finish what he was going to say: do you know why the relationship between King Silas and Prince Jack was so contentious that it led to these event?”  
“Well, Hardison, um mmh I think Jack felt stifled by what his father wanted him to do, and by some aspects of being royalty, but also, I don’t want to say too much, but I believe that Silas punished Jack for some part of Jack that Jack had no control over, something he shouldn’t have been punished for, and that’s all I can say.”  
Eliot said, “that was basically what I was going to ask. Hardison, Parker, can I talk to you? We’ll be back in just a minute.”

As soon as they got out in the hallway, Hardison said, “There were and are some theories on the internet that Jack Benjamin might be gay or potentially bi, and they are based on actual things, Eliot, including a nasty gay slur that King Silas shouted at his son when David Shepherd’s trial for treason fell apart.”  
Parker said, “I say we take it and try, it can’t be harder than stealing a country.”  
“We don’t have Nate and Sophie, but I feel like this is important,” said Eliot.  
“We have us, we can do it.”  
Hardison chimed in, “No one should be tortured for being gay, that’s just wrong, so’s being publicly being outed, just on a different scale!”

As soon as everyone was sitting down again, Eliot started picking David’s brain about the layout of the palace, the area surrounding it, and Shiloh in general, with Parker bombarding David with questions about security, and Hardison pulling everything potentially useful that he could find on the internet.   
“How do you know all of this?” Eliot asked.  
“I’ve been planning and gathering information for a while, and I keep collecting people who want to get rid of Silas and who have more up to date information than I have.”  
“Anything else we should know?”  
“I want to keep the body count as low as possible, and not kill Silas or Rose if we can in any way avoid it. I don’t want to start my reign with their blood on my hands. And when we find Jack, I should go in first, otherwise I’m not sure he’ll believe you or cooperate with you at all, and, um, Jack’s almost certainly not going to be in good shape, and he has a lot of pride, and it’s best if I’m the only one that sees him at his worst.”  
Parker, Hardison, and Eliot all agreed with David’s conditions and got down to hashing out all the details of the plan. 

It took several rounds of food and drinks and tons of paper and scribbling all over whiteboards, but eventually they felt like they had a solid plan.   
Parker clapped her hands, “Let’s go steal a prince!”


End file.
